Barnett Honored to Lead the Corinth School District

With his recent appointment as superintendent, Dr. John Barnett is excited for the future of the Corinth School District. “I am incredibly honored and humbled to have the opportunity to serve our school district and community,” said Barnett. “I am excited to lead us forward and work with our stakeholders to provide the best educational experience possible for our students.” 

Having worked in the Corinth School District since 2019, Barnett has seen firsthand that the district’s greatest strength is its people. “We have tremendous people who genuinely care about our students and go above and beyond for them,” said Barnett. “We also have wonderful community support, as well as high expectations. I want to continue to celebrate and support our people and to continue to raise the bar in our district.”

Barnett comes from an educational family with both his father and mother serving at Tishomingo County High School as a teacher/coach and counselor, respectively. With 18 years in education, Barnett has served as a classroom teacher, athletic coach, club sponsor, bus driver, assistant principal, principal, career and technical education contact, central office administrator and interim superintendent. “I believe education is a calling for me. I want to make a positive difference in the lives of children and help them see the opportunities that education can bring to their lives,” Barnett said. “I want to see our children successful and prepared to be productive members of society.”

One of the top priorities for the spring includes reviewing and updating the district’s strategic plan which includes getting community input. “We will schedule several community meetings to review our strategic plan. We will also distribute surveys to hear from all our stakeholder groups including teachers, parents, students, staff and community members,” said Barnett. “It is our goal to have a strategic plan that is a living document that drives all that we are doing in the Corinth School District. We need to be clear about our vision and goals and need every decision focused on achieving these collective goals and prioritizing doing what is best for children.”

Preparing students for college and career is a main aspect of the strategic plan. “As part of our strategic planning, I want us to focus intently on creating a collective ‘Portrait of a Graduate’ which will outline the attributes and skills that we want our students to possess when they graduate from Corinth High School,” said Barnett. “This portrait will be an integral part of everything we are doing from Pre-K all the way through graduation so that we have an integrated focus on preparing our children to be successful in whatever they choose to do after high school.”

As superintendent, Barnett plans to continue his faithful support of the teachers and staff at each school. “I want our teachers and staff to know how much I appreciate each of them,” said Barnett. “I want to continue to be highly visible and be someone that they feel comfortable talking with. I want to provide them the support they need to do their job each day and to celebrate the successes as we achieve them. Our teachers and staff are the backbone of our schools.”  

Barnett has most recently served as interim superintendent of the Corinth School District since March 2025. During his tenure as interim, he worked with the City of Corinth and the Corinth Police Department to enter into a partnership for the School Resource Officers to be contracted through the Corinth Police Department, fully staffing these positions. Additionally, several needed construction repairs to the Warrior Stadium ticket booth and field house have been completed. He also led an effort to improve the visual appearance of each school campus with new mulch and landscaping clean up, including tree removal. 

Barnett has the experience and education needed to be successful in his new role. He has a Doctor of Education in Leadership, Policy and Organizations from Vanderbilt University, a Master of Education in Educational Leadership as part of the Principal Corps from The University of Mississippi and a Bachelor of Arts in Education from The University of Mississippi. He is a 2003 graduate of Tishomingo County High School. He also served as principal of Corinth High School for five years and as a central office administrator for one year. Additionally, he served as principal of Anniston Avenue Elementary School, assistant principal of Long Beach Middle School, administrative intern at Iuka Elementary School and Corinth High School, and history teacher/baseball coach at Tishomingo County High School. 

Corinth has been home for Barnett and his family for the past seven years. “Corinth is such a special community. I am proud of the schools we have and want to do everything I can to continue supporting our administrators, teachers, staff, and students in their work,” said Barnett. “The opportunities students have in the Corinth School District are second to none. Corinth is a great place to raise a family and our school district does tremendous work preparing our children for the post-secondary world. We are blessed to continue to be a part of this great community.” 

Barnett’s wife, Kristen, is the librarian at Corinth High School. Their two sons, John Thomas and William, attend Corinth Middle School (6th grade) and Corinth Elementary School (4th grade), respectively. “My two sons want to always be Corinth Warriors,” said Barnett. The Corinth School District is pleased to welcome Dr. Barnett as the new superintendent.